Uprootmap

Chicago, IL

Hand-reviewed metro

Cost of living in Chicago: $2,426 leftover

Cost of living in Chicago, as leftover, is $2,426 a month for one adult, renting a 1-bedroom on local pay — take-home after tax minus rent of $1,782 and the rest of the modelled month. A price index would say non-housing costs sit near the US average (index 1.02). Illinois charges a 4.95% flat income tax. Chicago is a hand-reviewed metro.

How the math works

These figures start from one adult in a one-bedroom, on local pay of about $98,500. Change the job, the pay, or how many bedrooms you need, and leftover changes. This is a monthly budget, not a cost-of-living index.

The month, in dollars

Take-home is $6,079 after tax. These lines are the modelled bills, then what is left. The monthly costs page is the same household inside the city hub.

Monthly costs and leftover in Chicago
Rent$1,782
Groceries$408
Transport$392
Healthcare$459
Utilities$255
Childcare$0
Everything else$357
Total costs$3,653
Leftover$2,426

Sales tax is about 8.9%. Property tax is modelled at 2.10% of a $301,900 median home. Non-housing lines scale a national baseline by this metro's cost index (1.02).

Asking rent by bedroom

Turnover asking rent in Chicago, not the Census median of occupied stock. Rent versus buying.

  • Studio

    $1,528

  • 1 bedroom

    $1,782

  • 2 bedrooms

    $2,122

  • 3 bedrooms

    $2,780

  • 4 bedrooms

    $3,289

Leftover in other metros nearby

Same household. Each leftover is take-home after that metro's tax minus its rent.

Leftover is take-home after federal, state and city wage tax, minus asking rent at the bedroom count you set, minus a modelled month of groceries, utilities, healthcare, transport and childcare. It is not a cost-of-living index and not a moving quote. Change the job, remote versus local pay, or bedrooms and the ranking is a different city. How the math works · Leftover vs a COL index · Why a cheaper COL% can still lose leftover.

Cost of living in Chicago

What is the cost of living in Chicago?

On the default one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover in Chicago, IL is about $2,426 a month after tax and rent. Asking rent is about $1,782 for a one-bedroom and $2,122 for a two-bedroom. That is a budget, not a cost-of-living index.

How does Chicago compare with a cost-of-living index?

A price index would say non-housing costs sit near the US average (index 1.02). Leftover still depends on your tax bill and bedroom count, which an index does not. Chicago is a hand-reviewed metro.

Where is take-home pay in Chicago calculated?

The take-home page for Chicago splits federal, payroll, state and local wage tax, then subtracts rent. The city paycheck page is the same leftover math with the map.

Popular compares from Chicago

Moving from Chicago

Other Illinois metros

Other metros in Illinois, with leftover, rent, and day-to-day pages.

All Illinois metros